Trash, Recyclable, or Hazardous Waste?

So, the chemical cleaners are all in a pile and ready to be removed from my house forever. What do I do with them? The bottles are recyclable, but the liquids remaining inside – that’s a tougher challenge. I don’t want to recycle without emptying them first, but I also don’t want to pour everything down the drain. What to do, what to do…. I’ve decided to add them to the pile of 10-year-old oil-based paint that our house’s previous owners left us. We are planning to dispose of it at the next hazardous waste collection in our community. Does that mean that I’m considering our cleaners hazardous waste? That would mean that over the years, I have been slowly spraying and misting and squirting hazardous material all throughout our home. That makes me feel uncomfortable just thinking about it. Next time, I’m working my arm muscles to scrub our kitchen sink with baking soda, I’ll just remind myself that at least I’m not poisoning myself any more.